Just One Night
by stuckbeingrachel
Summary: [Mara Jaffray, while out with her friends the night before her wedding, runs into a man that draws her in without even trying. What insues after a night surprises both of them.] Jara oneshot! It's my 80th story! Rated T for mentions of sex. R&R!


**This is the longest oneshot I've ever written, like, EVER! And I love it so much! I got the idea from a book I finished reading recently called _Just One Night_. It's on Wattpad, and it is awesome! One of the main characters is actually "portrayed" by Eugene Simon or Jerome Clarke! :P**

**Enjoy some Jara perfection, my duckies!**

* * *

Mara Jaffray took a sip of her strawberry daiquiri, fingers tapping on the top of the bar. Her head pounded from the music of the club. She just wanted to leave, but of course, her friends wouldn't let her. It was the night before her wedding, and they just wanted to take her out for a last night of freedom. Now, that was usually what a guy did, he went out, drank a few beers, and stared at girls in short skirts and crop tops. Mara was there just because she was trying to grip the fact that she was going to get married. She couldn't believe it. She had worked very hard for this relationship to work, but she was nervous. She was worried that the marriage wouldn't last. She pushed all of her feelings away and took another sip of the drink.

"Hey, Mara," Patricia Miller called over the music, plopping down next to her friend at the bar. She ordered a drink and then turned, resting her chin on her fist with her eyebrows raised. "Why aren't you out there dancing with your friends?"

"I don't want to right now, Trish."

"Well, then, what's up?" Joy Mercer asked, popping up next to them.

"Patricia, before you married Eddie, did you finally realize you were going to be tied down for life, and felt like you would never be able to experience anything with anyone else?"

"Well, Mara, Eddie was my first in anything, but I guess I did think that. I guess I kinda wondered if there was something better, but that all changed once I married him." the auburn haired woman replied, taking the drink the bartender held out to her.

"Why, Mara, are you having second thoughts?" Joy asked with concern.

"I just wanna do something crazy before I settle down. You know what I mean?" She sighed. It was out of character for Mara Jaffray to want to doing something crazy, but sometimes, alcohol did that to her. She hadn't drunk very much, and she was completely sober, but just one sip would make her brain function differently.

"Well, why don't you have a fling?" Patricia shrugged.

"Excuse me?" Mara gasped, shock written across her tan face.

"Yeah, Mick won't mind, I'm sure." Joy smiled. She was right. In the past, Mick had cheated on Mara and been with other girls, but Mara continued to forgive him. Mara couldn't even begin to think about doing something like that to her fiancé. She was getting married tomorrow; she couldn't do something like that tonight.

"How about the next guy that walks through that door, will be your fling for the night? Give me your ring, go flirt, and go have some meaningless sex." Patricia grinned, holding out her hand. "Oh, and looks like your Romeo just came in."

Mara turned around and her brown eyes landed on a tall blonde. His hair was styled perfectly and his skin was pale. He must've been at least a year older than Mara, which would make him about 25. He was dressed in sophisticated yet casual attire. A black dress shirt, the top four buttons undone and the collars pulled away from his long neck, and dark blue jeans. He was stunning. Mara assumed that he must be an actor or a model, because no normal guy looked like that. She would even go as far as saying that he was better looking than Mick, but she stopped herself from staring, refusing to go that far.

"Guys…" she shook her head, unsure.

"Oh, come on, Mara," Joy sighed. "Look at him. If you don't go get him, I will. I might as well do something with my life while I wait for some stupid guy to get with the program and ask me out."

Mara bit her lip and peeked over her shoulder again. The man was heading straight for the bar and she spun back around. Her eyes darted, trying to think this through, but then she took a sip of her daiquiri, slipping her engagement ring off her finger and pushing it into Patricia's waiting palm. She twisted the barstool around, Patricia and Joy watching her with wide, shocked eyes, and she smiled at the man.

His light blue eyes darkened a shade when they caught sight of her and he gave a lopsided grin in return to her flirty smile. Mara's stomach tightened as she introduced herself politely.

"Jerome Clarke," he replied suavely. Instead of shaking her hand, like she thought he would, he lifted it and brushed a kiss across her knuckles. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mara Jaffray."

"So, I know this may sound completely cliché, but do you come here often? I've never seen you here before."

"Usually weekdays; weekends I'll go to the bar up the street. I thought I might mix things up a bit."

"You're lucky you did then." Mara stated.

"And why is that?" he asked with a smirk.

"You wouldn't have met me." she replied, matching his smirk.

"Too true," he chuckled. He downed the rest of his drink and ordered another one, as well as something fruity for Mara since her daiquiri had almost run out. "You're not going to fall in love with me are you?"

"Nope; promise you won't fall in love with me?"

"Oh, Jaffray, I don't fall in love." he replied with a deep chuckle.

* * *

And as the club's music seemed to slow down a little, Mara's friends had left, leaving her with 'her Romeo'. Her Jeromeo…

She shook her head at the thought and laughed at the joke he'd just made. He was quite funny.

Jerome looked around the bar while they fell silent again, a slow song playing in the background, and his eyes landed on a clock on the table behind the bar. It had been about 10:30 when he had met Mara, and now it was almost two o'clock in the morning. He had found a girl that was cute, single, and flirty, but he hadn't taken her back to his apartment. He had spent all that time talking to her. Did he really have that much to say? He felt like he was taking too long to get her into bed with him. But, he didn't realize until then that he didn't talk to anyone like he had with Mara. He felt like he could trust her, he told her so much.

"Well, it's getting late," he sighed. He wasn't drunk; he could handle alcohol very well.

Mara was fine as well, she was almost completely sober, and she had stopped drinking after less than half of the drink he'd bought her.

"Yeah…I should really be going…" she drifted off, as if she was waiting for him to stop her. And he did.

"Well, let me walk you back to your place, it's awfully dangerous for a beautiful girl like you to roam the streets at night." He told her.

"Maybe I should walk you back, a handsome guy like you is sure to be mauled by a few girls." She teased.

"I don't think I'll need the extra protection, but I'll take you up on that offer." He replied, standing from his barstool.

She got up as well and looked up. She knew that he was tall, but he was more than a foot taller than her. Mick wasn't that tall, he was only a few inches taller than her. It was different looking up so high. He bit back a grin as he peered down at her.

"Oh my, gosh, you're tall." She coughed.

"And you're short." He smirked.

"I'm not short," she protested.

"Sorry, you're…fun size." He winked.

"You did not just say that." She was trying to frown and be mad at him, but she could hold back the giggle that escaped.

"Oh, but I did, Jaffray," he led her to the door of the club and stepped aside. "After you,"

"Thank you." she smiled, leaving the building with him following close behind.

And as they strolled down the street to his apartment, which was a block away from the club and two blocks away from her apartment, Mara felt her stomach tighten again. She told herself that it was a nervous feeling, but really, it was anticipation.

* * *

Jerome opened his eyes before shutting them quickly. The drapes on the other side of the room were open, allowing the morning sun fall into the room. He squinted, and when his eyes adjusted to the light he looked around the room. He tried to sit up, but something was holding him back.

He swallowed. He liked this. A random girl he'd met at a club was sleeping on his chest, and he liked the feeling. He never liked that. He wanted to be able to get up and wait for the girl to wake up and leave, but not this time. This time, he wanted to stay wrapped up in the bed sheets and sleep in the rest of the day. He wanted to hold her.

He looked down at Mara's sleeping face. Her head was tilted up toward his and he restrained himself from leaning down and kissing her forehead. Her right left hand was resting on his chest, warmth that he wasn't familiar with spreading through him. The sunlight hit her tanned face perfectly and made it look like she was glowing. She was absolutely gorgeous. Jerome couldn't tear his eyes away from her face. He felt like such a creep, staring at her while she slept.

He took a deep breath. What was wrong with him? He kept his blue eyes trained on her flawless face before a thought hit him. His eyes grew wide and clouded over with realization. He wanted this. He wanted to wake up like this every morning, and not with just anyone. He wanted to wake up to Mara every morning. He couldn't believe it. This never happened to him.

He didn't even think it could be possible. But now, he found that he thought anything was possible. Looking down at the angel in his arms, wrapped in his bed sheets, he realized he loved lying like this. He loved looking at her. He loved holding her. He loved the feeling of her skin against his. He loved the sound of her laugh. He loved her smile. He loved her hair. He loved everything he had learned about her; he loved everything about her appearance. He loved her.

He had fallen in love. Fallen in love with a woman he met at a bar, just the night before. He had fallen in love in only one night. He actually couldn't fully remember his life before meeting her, not even the few minutes before he met her last night. He didn't want to remember a life without her. He wanted a life with her.

And he actually accepted this information. He wasn't going to be in denial about this. He was going to ask this woman out. He wasn't going to lose her.

He felt her stir and her brown eyes fluttered open, looking up at him with blurry vision. God, her eyes were beautiful.

"Hey," Jerome smiled softly at her. His thumb unconsciously rubbed small circles on her bare shoulder and she snuggled into his side with a content smile, closing her eyes again.

"Hey…" she murmured.

And then her eyes shot open and she pulled away from him, sitting up in a flash. "Wait, what time is it?" she asked frantically, pulling the sheets up to cover herself, hair tangled and pouring down her bare back, wild and free.

"Time to lie back down and go to sleep; it's too early to wake up on a Sunday." Jerome yawned, stretching. He couldn't hold back any longer. He needed to kiss her. He leaned over and pressed his lips to her shoulder, leaving butterfly kisses along her skin as he made his way up her neck.

"No, Jerome, what time is it?" she pushed him away from her and looked at the clock on the bedside table. "Oh, no, I'm going to be late!"

She shot out of the bed and crawled around, searching for her disregarded clothes, scattered on the floor.

"Late for what?" he asked, pulling on a pair of boxers.

"The wedding!" she cried, piling all her clothes onto her arms and making her way to the bathroom. "Can I use your shower?"

"Um, sure, but what wedding," he chuckled. She was kind of cute when she was stressed, and rushing around.

"Mine!"

Jerome froze. The bathroom door slammed shut, a second later, the shower switching on. She was getting married? Jerome gulped, running a hand through his hair, sitting on the edge of his bed slowly. She was getting married. She wasn't even single. And he had fallen in love with her. He had fallen in love with a woman that he could never have. Last night probably meant nothing to her. And it had been the best night of his life.

His head shot up when the door opened and Mara fled the bedroom. He followed her quickly. He wanted to try to stop her, but she grabbed her purse and turned to him with an apologetic glance. "I'm sorry, I really need to go. I'll see you around?"

She didn't wait for an answer. She just left the apartment without another word.

Jerome gritted his teeth. He wanted to run out to her and pull her back into the apartment. He wanted to beg her to stay with him instead of going to the wedding. But he couldn't do that. If she was in love with someone else, who was he to stop her?

But he was Jerome Clarke. He didn't surrender. He didn't back down. He didn't give in. He also didn't let anything take what belonged to him. And last night, he had made her his. He had marked her. He was in love with her, and he wasn't going to let anyone else have her.

* * *

Mara mumbled under her breath as her friends helped her slip into the wedding dress.

What was wrong with her? She had run out of that apartment like it held a disease, that disease being Jerome Clarke. She couldn't get the night before out of her head. She had felt so safe and complete when he was holding, kissing, and caressing her. He had done everything in such a soft, gentle and loving way. Mick had never been like that. He was rough. He never waited or savored anything, he just did it and then it was finished. Last night had felt like it lasted forever. She felt like she had been in heaven.

"So…how was that guy you met at the club?" Patricia asked, popping a crisp into her mouth as she watched Mara getting pampered for the wedding.

"What guy?" Amber Lewis looked up, shock on her flawless face.

"Mara met a guy last night." Joy replied. "How'd it go with him?"

"Hmm," Mara's eyes clouded over as she thought about the things Jerome had said to her. So sweet and loving—

"Mara," Patricia called, snapping her fingers in front of her face.

"What?" she turned to her expectantly.

"Are you okay?" Amber asked, worry lacing her voice.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just tired…I guess."

"So, you had a good time with your Romeo I take it?" Joy smirked, but she was beginning to get worried, Mara never acted like this.

"You mean Jeromeo."

"Jeromeo," Patricia said in a monotone.

"His name was Jerome." Mara sighed. She reached up and ran the tips of her fingers over the love bite he had left at the base of her neck.

"Oh, Mara, you slept with him?" Amber gasped, hurrying to get makeup to cover the bruise.

"Mara, you realize you're acting like a lovesick teenager, right?" Patricia pointed out.

"Mara, don't pay any attention to this guy. He was just a one night stand. He meant nothing." Joy told her.

"But he was…" Mara stopped. She was paying way too much attention to Jerome. Her mind should be focused on the fact that she was getting married to Mick Campbell, the guy that she'd known for thirteen years and had dated for seven. She couldn't push him out of her life just because of a guy she'd met and been with for just one night.

"He was what?" Amber said slowly. She was suspicious. Mara never let the thought of cheating even enter her mind. What had made this guy so special that she gave him the privilege of sleeping with her on the eve of her wedding?

"He was just a guy." Mara finished, shaking off the thought of him.

"A guy that you can't stop thinking about." Patricia scoffed with a knowing smirk. "Was he that good?"

"Patricia!" Amber shrieked, slapping the goth's arm lightly. She turned back to the bride. "Stop thinking about him, Mara, you're getting married today."

Mara nodded. Right, she was getting married, to Mick, the guy she'd been in love with for as long as she could remember.

* * *

Mara straightened her veil. She was going out there in a moment. She was about to marry Mick Campbell. And she loved him.

Then why wasn't she as excited for this day as she was a week ago? She couldn't be having second thoughts now. She just had cold feet.

She ran her hands down her sides, flattening any wrinkles in the white gown. It was long, falling to the floor and flowing behind her. It was strapless and had different layers of a flowery lace below the waist. It was also strapless, leaving her shoulders and neck completely bare. Her hand lifted to brush the spot Jerome had left his mark on her neck. It was covered with make-up and Mara was glad, it was just a reminder that he had been a better partner than Mick had ever been, and she didn't want to think like that.

She suddenly felt as if the front of her dress was being pulled off her body. But she realized that the back of the dress was just loosening. It had always done that. She tried to reach the top button behind her, but her fingers didn't quite reach.

She heard the doors open behind her and before she could turn to who had entered the room, her dress was tightened. A shiver ran down her spine when familiar fingers brushed against her silky skin. But those weren't Mick's fingers…no, his were bigger, rougher, and didn't handle anything gently.

"Jerome, what are you doing here? How did you find me?" she gasped, stepping away from him.

"I'm not stalking you, I swear." He told her, raising his hands to be level with his shoulders in surrender.

She watched him wide brown eyes. He was even more gorgeous in broad daylight. He wore a light purple, button up shirt with a skinny, black tie, loosened, and black dress pants. His hair was combed, swept over his forehead and to the side, and his eyes darkened when they landed on her face, just like they had the night before.

"How did you find out where my wedding was?" she asked cautiously, eyes flitting to the clock on the wall. She had about eleven minutes before the ceremony started.

"The paper," he replied with a shrug.

"Why are you here?"

"I…don't know." he finished lamely.

"You don't know why you tracked me down and snuck into my dressing room on my wedding day?"

"You look incredible." He complimented, pushing his hands into the front pockets of his pants, feeling the need to do something with them.

"Oh, thank you, my best friend picked it out." she blushed.

"I thought the girl that was getting married was supposed to pick out the dress?" Jerome raised an eyebrow at her, eyes drifting over the dress. "And I thought there's only supposed to be one dress?"

He brushed past her, reaching out to the off-white dress behind her. It was long but the hem of the dress's skirt would have come right above the ground, while the lace covering pooled on the floor. The sleeves were long and widened at the wrists and the front clipped together, creating a little collar on the back.

"It was my mother's. She passed away when I was fifteen."

"He wouldn't let you wear this, would he." he said knowingly.

"Well, I wouldn't have done it justice anyway—" she tried.

"Are you kidding me?" he scoffed. "You would look breath-taking in this. I'd let you wear it."

"What?"

"Where are you going for your honeymoon?" he asked, turning back to her, hands leaving the lacey material of the dress.

"Australia,"

"Australia? Why not somewhere romantic?" Jerome chuckled, running a hand through his perfect blonde hair.

"Well, Mick has a football tournament and it's held in Australia, so—"

"You're going to sit and watch him kick a ball around on your honeymoon?"

"I love watching him play sports. He's really happy when he's playing. And besides, we'll have early mornings and late nights to be with each other." she shrugged nonchalantly, but her stomach twisted painfully. Jerome was asking questions that she'd answer with reasons why she shouldn't be marrying him. It was almost like Jerome was trying to stop her from getting married. "Why, what would you do on a honeymoon?"

"I'd go somewhere romantic, but not somewhere cliché. Like, Italy, I'd go to Italy."

"I've always wanted to go to Italy."

"You know, Jaffray, last night, I told you that story about my parents leaving me at boarding school when I was five?"

Mara looked up at him with sympathy swimming in her dark orbs. "Yes?"

"I've never told anyone about that."

"You haven't?"

"No, you're special." Jerome swallowed, looking at her seriously. "I grew up without love."

"Jerome—"

"You showed me what love is." he stated and she sucked in a surprised breath.

"What?"

"I—"

"Hey, little girl, time to go," a voice interrupted.

The two looked at the blonde American poking his head into the room, green eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"I'll be right there, Eddie." Mara replied and he nodded, closing the door, but not without a quick glance at Jerome. "I'm sorry, Jerome, I need to go, we'll talk later—?"

"No," he sighed and Mara halted in her steps to the door, turning back to him. "I'm moving to Italy today, actually, I don't want to live here anymore. I guess I came here, just to see you one last time, and to tell you that…I lied, when I said that I don't fall in love, because, I fell in love with you, Mara Jaffray."

"You what?" she gasped.

"I've never met anyone like you before; I can't get you out of my mind. But, you're getting married, I'm not going to try to get in the way of that, I'm just giving you another option. I'm gonna leave this with you." he said softly, laying a plane ticket on the table next to them. "Plane leaves in an hour. But I know that you'll make the right decision. I'm rotten, I'm no good, I'm a lying, manipulative rat, I grew up like that, and Mick,"—he spat his name like it was poison on his tongue—"will probably be the better choice anyway. You've known him longer, you've dated him, and you've had time to fall for him instead of a single night. I'm gonna go now; let you get to the wedding. I love you, Fun Size."

Jerome took a deep breath and cupped her face in his pale hands, bringing his lips down on hers hesitantly. A second later, he pulled away, and then he was gone.

Mara swallowed and left the room, heading immediately for the chapel. She took her father's arm with a small, unsure smile and let him lead her down the aisle. Mick Campbell was standing before her in no time at all, blonde hair shaggy and blue eyes shining in the light of the room. And Mara hated herself, because she unconsciously began to compare him to Jerome. How could she do that? They were completely different people, completely different men that she loved dearly. Yes, she decided that she loved both of them. She'd fallen for Jerome Clarke in a single night, but Jerome had been right when he pointed out that she'd known Mick longer, she loved him longer. But did that really make a difference?

Before she knew it, Mick had already said 'I do' and now everyone's eyes were on her, waiting for a positive response. And then, all time seemed to freeze. Everyone was as still as statues, and Mara was the only one able to move. She looked around, unable to make sense of the situation. But she realized that it must have been something in her head, but she stopped thinking when warm breath glided down her bare neck.

"Mara," he whispered, stepping in front of her, next to a frozen Mick, who smiled happily at her, unaware of what was happening. Mara wasn't even sure that was happening.

She was imagining everything. Everything was still moving; she just made it stop in her crowded mind. She had to find a way to start time again.

"Mara, calm down, you're just trying to think clearly, so you stop time with your mind. Anyone can do that. I do that. Time hasn't really stopped; you just imagined it to have. The ceremony is still in progress, but it hasn't come to you just yet. I'm not really here, you're just thinking about me." Jerome said smugly, crossing his arms over his chest confidently.

"That explanation made no sense." Mara shook her head.

"So what if it did? All you need to know is that you have a chance to think this whole thing over. Do you really wanna marry this guy? Be with him the rest of your life?"

"Yes—?"

"No, you don't, Mara. You may love him, but you love a lot of people. You love all of your family and friends and even the people that don't like you, you love them, and you don't want to marry them do you?" he asked.

"Well, that's true, but this is different. It's Mick."

"And I'm Jerome. Yes, we just met. Yes, it was just one night. But we both felt absolutely incredible. Before, during, after, and want to feel like that forever. I talked to you for hours. Not once did I try to get into your pants. I can actually talk to you. There's more to us than just sex. We have fun just hanging out. You and Mick, what do you do? Watch sports, talk sports, watch him play sports—you grew up around sports. Do you want to live the rest of your life around sports?"

"No…" she shook her head.

"And he wouldn't let you wear your deceased mother's wedding dress, to your own wedding, for crying out loud. What kinda guy are you marrying? What made you fall in love with him?"

"He made me feel like I was worth something, because he dumped Amber for me."

"Mara, I made you feel special. I made you feel loved. I made you feel cared for. I'll do that the rest of my life. I will let you wear that dress; you would look gorgeous in that. I will take you to Italy, and anywhere else you want to go. I will make sure you have everything you want, anything you wish for, I'll give you. I'd crawl to the ends of the earth for you, Mara. I love you."

"I love you, too." she replied.

"I'll let you decide what you want. The plane leaves in forty-five minutes." he reminded her, tightening the back of her dress again. "But, also, please remember that last night, we didn't have sex. We had met, got to know everything about each other, and felt comfortable; we had made love. We had known each other for four hours, and we made love. We have a connection, we know what we want, and we both know you never felt like that with Mick."

"And do you, Mara, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

Mara turned to the preacher, the old man watching her expectantly. She looked at Mick. His smile faltered. She was taking a little too long to answer.

"I…" she mumbled.

"Mara?" the blonde whispered urgently, eyes darting to the crowd of confused family and friends.

"I…can't." she ground out. Her heart clenched when his face shifted from confusion to utter disappointment.

"Mara," Amber shrieked from her place to the right of the couple.

"I knew it!" Patricia cried triumphantly.

"Patricia, be quiet!" Mara scolded softly. She twisted back to gaze at Mick sympathetically. "Mick, I am so sorry, but I can't marry you. Not when I love someone else."

"When did this happen?" he asked angrily. He wasn't shouting but he probably would start soon.

"Um…"

"Do you realize how humiliated I am?" he gestured to their audience. It was then that he realized people were watching them and his expression sobered, though the anger was still there.

"I'm sorry." She forced out, running down the aisle and through the double doors. Amber, Patricia, and Joy ran after her being trailed by Nina Martin, KT Rush, and Willow Jenks.

"Mara, what are you doing?" KT cried, watching Mara struggle to get out of the dress.

"I have to get home and get packed." She replied frantically, slipping into a pair of jeans and a green blouse.

"Packed for what?" Willow asked, picking the dress up off the floor.

"The flight; Jerome," she gasped, swiping the ticket off the table where he'd left it just mere minutes ago. "Jerome left me this. He's expecting me at the airport if I want to be with him."

"And you want to be?" Joy asked slowly.

"Who's Jerome?" Nina wondered, clearly confused.

"A guy she slept with last night." Patricia waved off the American's gasp of shock.

"I want to be with him. I love him. And he loves me! He's willing to do anything for me. I want more than anything to get on that plane and fly to Italy with him! When we get married, he'll let me wear my mother's dress. And he'd do anything to make me happy. And I cannot even imagine a life without him."

"Oh my, gosh, you're really in love with this guy." KT sighed.

"You should see the way his eyes light up when he talks about his little sister Poppy. And you should hear what he has to say about everything, he has such strong opinions. And you should see him without a shirt; he may be a twig but wow—"

"Mara, let's go so you can get packed!" Amber laughed, pulling her friend to the door.

"Hey, where are you guys going?" Eddie called; running up to them, purple tie loose around his neck.

"Not now, Cockroach." Patricia snapped, pecking his lips, and leaving the building.

"I'll see you later, boo." Amber giggled, kissing Alfie's cheek.

Nina whispered something to Fabian and kissed his cheek before following her friends out the door.

The others bid their farewells to their boyfriends and trekked after the others, leaving the men completely and utterly confused with an angry ex-groom in the next room.

* * *

"So, she's totally in love with this guy and she's going to meet him at the airport so she can run away with him to Italy?" Mick choked out. "Isn't that a bit cliché?"

"Yeah, a little cheesy, but hey, this is Mara we're talking about. She loves chick flicks, and now she's living one." Eddie shrugged, popping a crisp into his mouth.

"Mate, you need to think about her. This is something that makes her really happy, and she hasn't been nearly as happy in a while." Fabian pointed out.

"Don't you think I know that?" he spat.

"I think what Fabes is trying to say is that you need to let her live her life and to take this chance. He could end up hurting her and she'd run back to you." Alfie suggested.

"No, I won't be a rebound. She made her decision. She didn't want me, so she lost me. If she comes crawling back, I won't be taking her back." Mick stated angrily.

* * *

"Everyone move!" Patricia ordered loudly.

Many of the people in the busy airport turned to the yelling, auburn haired girl.

"Trying to help true love prevail here, people," Amber explained.

"Guys…" Mara muttered, a flush of embarrassment pooling on her tanned cheeks.

"Go on, Mara, go get your Jeromeo." KT winked, giving her a gentle shove forward.

Mara nervously followed their instructions and sped through the parting crowds nervously. Once she was past them, she felt much better; no one was staring at her anymore. She scanned the schedules and found the plane for Italy about to leave in less than ten minutes. She turned to her friends and pointed down the less crowded hallway.

"Hey, girls, ya know—"

"Buzz off, Krueger." Patricia growled.

"Don't worry; we're just here to see you off." he promised, wrapping an arm around Mara's shoulders and squeezing her gently.

"Thanks, Eddie, and I'd love to say bye to all of you and hug everyone, but the plane is leaving soon." She pointed to the flight listings.

"Well, that flight is this way." Fabian spoke up, leading them to the long line that led to the gate.

Mara's brown eyes scanned the line, in search of her tall, blonde Jeromeo, but he wasn't there. She frowned. Maybe he had already boarded?

Her wonderings were answered when she saw him run up to the end of the line. He ran a hand through his perfect hair in the way Mara fell in love with. Something seemed off about him, and it dawned on her that he hadn't even noticed her. She waved to her friends silently and snuck up behind him.

"So, I know this may sound completely cliché," he whipped around at the sound of her voice. "But do you come here often?"

His eyes filled with shock and happiness.

"You came." He breathed in amazement.

"How could I not?" she teased, chuckling lightly.

"You came." He repeated.

"Jerome, are you okay?" she asked in concern.

"You came." A grin spread across his face and she smiled, eyes glimmering.

"I had to. I love you, Jerome."

"I love you, too." he replied, joy radiating off him in waves.

He leaned down, an arm wrapping around her shoulders and a hand cupping her cheek as her arms snaked around his neck, pulling him closer. Her eyelids fluttered closed, ready for the magnificent feeling of his lips on hers, but it never came. Instead, a throat was cleared behind them nosily and they froze an inch apart. Looking up at the angry business man, Mara blushed and Jerome scowled.

"Can we help you?" he asked rudely.

"Hey, buddy!"

The man turned to Joy, who glared at him harshly, pointing a finger at him.

"I will not hesitate to sew you butt to you face if you even think about ruining this beautiful moment." She snapped, surprising her friends.

The man shrunk back cowardly and Mara giggled, turning back to Jerome. He smiled and closed the gap between them. The passion and love from the night before erupted in their hearts again, lips moving in perfect synchronization.

Mara's friends cheered and applauded them. A few by passers wolf whistled and awed at the scene before them.

When the two pulled back, they could hide the massive grins that formed on their faces. Jerome chuckled and she asked him what was so funny.

"We fell in love in just one night."

"Lucky, huh?" she shrugged.

"More like a fate." He corrected and kissed her again.

* * *

**That's it. So...what'd you think? I'd really like to know! Review!? I love you all so much!**

**Oh, and if you wanna know what the two wedding dresses looked like, I'll put the links up on my profile! **

_**If God is for us, who can ever be against us? -Romans 8:31**_

**-Rachel**


End file.
